16-year-old charged in Arkansas police officer’s killing

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16-year-old charged in Arkansas police officer’s killing

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A 16-year-old has been charged as an adult with capital murder in the shooting death of an Arkansas police officer.

The teen was being held Wednesday at a juvenile detention center in the death of Newport police Lt. Patrick Weatherford. The teen’s name wasn’t immediately released by authorities. The charges filed Wednesday also include possession of a handgun by a minor.

An 18-year-old had previously been accused in the June 12 shooting, but Prosecutor Henry Boyce said that man will now just face charges of breaking or entering, theft of property and furnishing a deadly weapon to a minor.

Police say Weatherford was shot while investigating a vehicle break-in at Newport, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock. Weatherford died at a hospital that night.